Tues., Nov. 5 - When we arrived in Adelaide, we picked up a rental car and drove to the Barossa Valley. One thing we noticed right away is that the Adelaide region of Australia seems just a little bit greener than other parts of Australia we've visited. Adelaide is in the state of South Australia. The sun here shines every bit as much and is just as intense as everywhere else in Australia. We learned that there is a hole in the ozone layer over Australia, which explains why the sun is always so intense. As a result, Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. The Barossa Valley is a 1 hour drive northeast of Adelaide and is Australia's most famous wine region. There are 750 grape growing families here.
The landscape consists of green and brown rolling hills overlooking valleys of rows and rows of vineyards, with reserves and forests nearby to complete the picturesque setting. Dotted among the valleys and ridges are some historic towns containing churches, stone buildings, cottages, and of course, wineries.
We drove through the Barossa Valley towns of Lyndoch, Tanunda, Angaston, and Nurioopta. The drive took us up into the hills where we stopped at an overview to look down on the valley below. Along the drive, there were many wildflowers in bloom.
On one drive, there were rows and rows of beautiful, rich deep red roses that lined the road and sat on the edge of each row of the vineyards. The beauty of these roses is near impossible to describe. I read somewhere that these roses comprise the largest collection of roses in the Southern Hemisphere. One of the roads we took was Seppeltsfield Road, named for one of the most famous wineries of the Barossa Valley, and it is sometimes called Palm Ave.
This is because this road, for miles, is lined on both sides with magnificent, huge Palm trees. It is breathtaking as you drive down the road, through the center of this alley of Palms. We returned from the Barossa Valley, checked into our hotel room, and then took a 15-20 minute walk to Adelaide's "Central Market".
The Central Market is a huge collection of shops offering everything from fresh produce to sushi, cheese, nuts, baked goods, and other various goodies. The diversity is reflected in the Asian and European shops that exist side by side. We took a walk through the market and sampled some nuts, croissants, and cheese.
On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped at Adelaide's famous chocolate shop: Haigh's Chocolates.
No free samples here like at Margaret River, but we did make a small purchase just to sample the famous chocolatier. While walking around town, we noticed many women dressed up in very formal dresses, with many wearing fancy hats. It turns out that everyone here is celebrating the "Melbourne Cup". It is Australia's most popular horse race - I suppose comparable to our Kentucky Derby - and was run (or will be run) today. One promo describes it as an event that virtually brings the nation to a halt.
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